2012 Positional Breakdown: Defensive Line

Out of all the question marks for Michigan's 2012 squad, perhaps the biggest are for the defensive line.  After losing three starters, Michigan is looking for players to fill the roles formerly played by Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen, and Will Heininger.  They have returning players at every position on the defensive line with game experience, but only one of the four spots has gotten a serious amount of confidence from fans.  As a result, Michigan's defensive line progress could very likely determine the direction of the defense overall and the team's performance down the stretch.

This is largely because Michigan has All-Big Ten prospects at just about every positional group on the offensive side and is returning just about everybody that started at linebacker or in the secondary last year as well.  Add in the fact that both of the specialists return and Michigan looks like a pretty good squad for 2012, assuming the defensive line can progress.  In my opinion, this is the position group that will determine the type of season Michigan will have in 2012.  Not only because it has the most question marks, but also because of the way it produced in 2011 in route to the Sugar Bowl victory.  Key red zone stops, key stops on 3rd and short, and a plethora of turnovers during the course of the season.  Making up for that is going to be a challenge, so let's start breaking down who has a chance at doing it in 2012.

Recapping 2012 Commit Willie Henry

The defensive line for Michigan in 2012 has been filled with question marks since Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen left for the NFL.  Experts have cited all kinds of reasons to either believe or doubt Michigan's defensive front for next year.  Much of it has focused on returning players, but Michigan is actually bringing in several defensive lineman that could make an impact in their freshman campaign.  One of them is Willie Henry, who was a very late addition to Michigan's 2012 recruiting class.  He didn't receive much coverage during the recruiting period, but he could prove to be one of the more important recruits in the class.

There are a multitude of reasons to be excited about Henry for this season and the future.  First, he is already massive, coming in at 302 lbs according to the 2012 media guide.  That's just 6 lbs lighter than Will Campbell who is projected to start at nose tackle and heavier than Richard Ash and Quinton Washington, both projected backups for the line.  The unfortunate thing about his massive size is that a good hunk of it is "bad" weight and he will need to work to improve on his overall strength before he gets some serious playing time.  However, he has a great wingspan that allows him to get away from blocks, is a solid and consistent tackler, and has good speed, considering his immense size.  He has some solid potential, but there's no doubt he needs to work on his strength, size, and his basic technique, especially in the use of his hands as he can have trouble with double teams and offensive lineman can often get leverage on his lower body.